London Accord Appointment Welcomed

The London Skills and Employment Board has welcomed the appointment of Carrie England as Director of the London Employer Accord.

The London Employer Accord, which is open to all businesses in the capital, seeks to build partnerships between employers and government agencies to help unemployed Londoners back into work.

England has extensive experience a senior management level and has recently been working with major London employers to pilot the Accord which so far has supported 100 Londoners into employment.

her team of twelve will work closely with partners such as the London Development Agency, the Learning and Skills Council and Job Centre Plus.

Welcoming the appointment Harvey McGrath, Vice Chair of the London Skills and Employment Board, said: “This is a key appointment in taking forward the Board’s ambition to simplify the skills and employment landscape in London and improving opportunities for those Londoners looking for work. Carrie has a very exciting and challenging role in helping to realise the Board’s ambitions”.

Under the Accord businesses commit to making more entry-level opportunities available to Londoners in return for a commitment from employment and training agencies to provide a supply of trained job ready candidates

Grant Hearn, Chief Executive of Travelodge and the London Skills and Employment Board’s lead on the Accord commented: “I look forward to working with Carrie and have every confidence in her ability to make the Accord work for London’s employers. Carrie is a confident and talented individual and we are fortunate to have recruited someone with her strengths to lead this important project”.

Today also saw the publication of the London Skills and Employment Board’s interim report ‘The London Approach’ which sets out the next stage in the delivery of a London Skills Strategy.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone who chairs the board said: “The engagement from the public and private sectors in helping us to develop a London Skills and Employment Strategy demonstrates a strong commitment to tackle the unacceptably high levels of worklessness in London”

“This gives me real confidence that the strategy will, for the first time, achieve coordinated action across the capital to bear down on London’s long-term historic unemployment and low-employment areas and give people the skills to get back into work and progress”

“Today’s report shows that work has already started to put in place crucial initiatives that will ensure the final strategy delivers real life changing opportunities to thousands of Londoners.”